Two Escrow Agents Among Four Copping Pleas In Straw Buyer Scam Involving $15M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Home Loans

In Houston, Texas, The Associated Press reports:

• Four people have pleaded guilty to an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme that involved millions of dollars in illegally obtained loan proceeds, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The loans totaling more than $15 million were for residential properties in Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Montgomery counties and most of the homes ultimately were placed in foreclosure.

• Carlos Paul Gonzalez, 38, and Machell Halstead, 42, each pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud during a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said in a news release. Jannice Bonner, 39, pleaded guilty in April and Russell Browder, 41, pleaded guilty in June to the same charges.(1) [...] Prosecutors said Browder and Gonzalez paid Bonner and Halstead, escrow agents, for their help in the scheme.

For the story, see 4 convicted in $15 million loan scheme in Houston.

(1) Prosecutors said Gonzalez and Browder operated a scheme from 2002 to Nov. 1, 2005, and recruited people with high credit scores to act as borrowers to obtain mortgage loans and purchase homes. The scheme involved preparing loan applications for the borrowers using fabricated documents and later forging signatures on warranty deeds that indicated the property was being sold to companies that had been set up by Browder and Gonzalez.